Joseph Perras, M.D., president and CEO of Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center, Dartmouth Health (Vermont), will serve as 2023 chair of the AHA Rural Health Services Committee. Sean Fadale, president and CEO of Nathan Littauer Hospital and Nursing Home (New York), is chair-elect. Philip Pandolph, president and CEO, Meadville Medical Center (Pennsylvania), has transitioned to past-chair. Christina Freese Decker, president and CEO of Corewell Health (Michigan), will serve as liaison to the AHA Board of Trustees.  
  
New committee members for 2023 include: Mary N. Mannix, president and CEO of Augusta Health (Virginia); Zachary Miller, CEO of Community Hospital, Banner Health (Wyoming); Susan Mooney, M.D., president and CEO at Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, Dartmouth Health (New Hampshire); Ryan Smith, CEO of South Peninsula Hospital (Alaska); Carl Vaagenes, CEO of Alomere Health (Minnesota); and Francine Witt, president and CEO of Effingham Health System (Georgia), who was completing a partial term and was elected to a full three-year term ending Dec. 31, 2025. 
 
The Rural Health Services Committee represents the AHA's small, rural and critical access hospital members by participating in the AHA's advocacy, policy and resource development, with a particular focus on strategic opportunities. For more on the constituency section and its leadership, including a complete list of committee members, visit aha.org

Blog
Public
In think‑tank reports, like the one released this week by Paragon Health Institute, hospitals are often reduced to abstractions — payment rates, charts,…
Headline
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations and member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, in…
Headline
The Health Resources and Services Administration April 7 announced it will provide more than $135 million in funding to support nutrition and rural health…
Headline
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has released an advisory examining innovative solutions to close gaps in behavioral health care…
Chairperson's File
Public
Leaders of rural hospitals face similar challenges as leaders of urban hospitals, but with an added degree of complexity, including recruiting staff,…
Headline
The AHA will host a webinar Feb. 13 at noon ET on the unique funding challenges and opportunities for rural health organizations. Participants will…